'Really upsetting': Family pays $15K to get home after WestJet cancels Puerto Rico flights

Toronto woman and 13 relatives only learned the bad news after showing up at the San Juan airport

Chris Ma, bottom right, with her brother and parents during their Caribbean cruise. The family, along with 10 other relatives travelling with them, were stranded in San Juan after WestJet cancelled their return flight. (Chris Ma)

Sophia HarrisBusiness reporter sophia.harris@cbc.ca

Sophia Harris has worked as a CBC video journalist across the country, covering everything from the start of the annual lobster fishery in Yarmouth, N.S., to farming in Saskatchewan. She now has found a good home at the business unit in Toronto where she produces for national TV news and writes and shoots and edits video for CBC.ca.
Twitter:

Chris Ma and 13 of her relatives learned their WestJet flight home had been cancelled when they arrived at the San Juan airport.

Unbeknownst to them, the flight had actually been cancelled nearly a month earlier when WestJet suspended service to Puerto Rico.

"We were super shocked," says Ma, who lives in Toronto. "It was just really upsetting."

The family had just finished a Caribbean cruise that docked in Puerto Rico's capital on Nov. 4.

"We were stranded," Ma says. "We were just so worried."

The family scrambled and eventually did find a way home — four days later, and at a huge cost.

They had to shell out $15,550 total to book last-minute flights on other airlines and stay three extra nights in a San Juan hotel.

"All the money and time that we wasted," Ma says. "It was really unfortunate."

Chris Ma and her family on a day trip during their Caribbean cruise. Fourteen of them were set to fly home to Canada on WestJet. (Chris Ma)

Many Canadians have had their travel plans disrupted because both WestJet and Air Canada have cancelled flights and suspended service to Puerto Rico due to damage caused by Hurricane Maria in September.

Other airlines such as American, Delta, United, Southwest and JetBlue are still flying to the island.

WestJet says it provided "ample notification" about its flight cancellations by posting an advisory on its website on Oct. 8, and sending out notices.

However, several WestJet travellers who spoke with CBC News say they got the news very late, leaving them scrambling to find new flights.

'Can't do anything about it'

Ma and her family had flown to San Juan on American Airlines on Oct. 28 to catch their cruise. They didn't learn about about the cancellation of their return WestJet flight until a week later when they couldn't find a WestJet booth at the airport and Ma called the airline.

"They just said that they're sorry, it's unfortunate, but they can't do anything about it," she recalls.

Next, Ma called EC Travel, which had booked the family's tickets and assured them before departure that the trip was still a go. She says the Toronto agency was just as shocked as she was, and advised her the fastest way home would be to book with another airline at the airport.

During the family's journey home from San Juan, they had a 13-hour stopover in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where some of them tried to get some sleep. (Chris Ma)

The best the family could get were multiple connecting flights on three different airlines. They also had to stay three nights in a hotel in San Juan before they could start their journey home to Toronto and Montreal.

"I feel like WestJet is to blame," Ma says. "If they're going to cancel flights that we already bought tickets for, they should have been able to help us more."

Who's to blame?

WestJet says it alerted travel agencies about the flight cancellations both on its website specifically for agents and by emailing them notices. The airline also said that while it will refund the cancelled tickets and waive change fees, it's up to the agencies to arrange new flights.

Travel agent Nick Wu with EC Travel says the company never received an email from WestJet. CBC News asked WestJet if it could provide a copy of any notification sent to EC Travel. The airline hasn't responded to the request.

Wu also says an online posting isn't sufficient notice for agencies dealing with high volumes of passengers, especially considering the hurricane threat had already passed and many airlines continue to service San Juan.

"How could we guess that when the hurricane's gone, they start cancelling the flights?"

He also says the yet-to-be-refunded $2,122 for the family's original 14 WestJet tickets home won't go very far to cover their new $15,550 bill.

He sent a complaint to the airline asking for compensation for the family. "They sell the ticket, they should take responsibility," he says.

'They just dropped us'

Other travel companies also missed WestJet's alerts. Online booking agencies Flight Network and Kiwi.com informed passengers just two days prior to departure that their Nov. 4 flight from San Juan to Toronto was cancelled.

Both agencies took responsibility for the late notification.

But, like EC Travel, Aspire Travel in Ajax, Ont., believes WestJet blundered by not contacting the agency earlier and helping it make alternative plans for passengers.

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.